Kremlin Envoy Praises Trump's 'Peace Efforts' as Zelenskyy Meets Trump, Donbas Question Unresolved

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat down with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the president's resort in Palm Beach, Florida, to work through a possible deal to end Russia's full-scale invasion. Within hours, a voice from the other side weighed in. Kirill Dmitriev, the Kremlin envoy who also runs the Russian Direct Investment Fund and has been closely involved in talks with U.S. representatives, wrote on X that the whole world appreciates Trump and his team's peace efforts.

Dmitriev paired the praise with a jab at what he called UK and EU warmongers for their continued backing of Ukraine. It echoes a familiar Kremlin line: that American diplomacy is being undermined by NATO and European allies.

The meeting itself was preceded by a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, as quoted by Russia's state-run Tass agency, that Trump initiated it. Afterward Trump told reporters the call lasted more than two hours and that the negotiating teams are getting a lot closer, maybe very close. He said he and Zelenskyy had covered 95 percent of the issues needed to end the war, and that a follow-up call with European leaders had gone well.

The hardest questions, though, remained open. Both leaders said territorial concessions, specifically over the eastern Donbas region, were not settled. Russia wants Ukrainian forces out of all of Donbas, which comprises Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in exchange for a deal. Zelenskyy has offered a demilitarized zone covering the area instead. Trump also again brushed aside an immediate ceasefire to make room for later negotiations, something Ukraine has repeatedly proposed. He sounded sympathetic to Putin's insistence on a full peace deal first, saying Putin doesn't want to stop fighting and then possibly have to start again, and that he understands that position.

Zelenskyy nonetheless offered an upbeat account. On Telegram he thanked Trump and his team, as well as envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been leading the White House's recent shuttle diplomacy. He said the sides discussed all aspects of the peace framework, achieved significant results, and agreed that security guarantees are key to lasting peace. Their teams are to meet next week to finalize the discussed issues, and Trump agreed to host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January. Trump said a settlement could come in a few weeks if things go really well, but added that in a few weeks we will know one way or the other, and that it has been a very difficult negotiation.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump will speak again by phone in the very near future. He said Moscow did not yet know the outcome of the Florida talks but agreed with Trump that peace is significantly closer. Asked about a Putin-Zelenskyy call, he said there is no talk of such a conversation at this time.

Traveling back from Florida, Zelenskyy took questions from journalists. Asked by ABC News whether Ukraine has a plan B, he said Ukraine has always had plan A, which is peace, while in Russia plan A was war, so Russia should be thinking about plan B: ending it. He said he is open to a call with Putin and to any options that could help end the war. On U.S. security guarantees, he said the proposed term is currently 15 years with a possible extension, and that Kyiv is pushing for 30 to 40 years.

The fighting continued meanwhile. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 25 drones overnight into Monday, with 21 shot down or suppressed and four hitting two locations. By ABC News' analysis of air force data, it was the smallest Russian attack since the night of June 27 to 28. Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed at least 112 Ukrainian drones, and Rosaviatsiya reported flight restrictions at airports in Krasnodar, Kaluga and Pskov.

What to watch now: the teams' meeting next week, the planned January talks in Washington with European leaders, and whether another Putin-Trump call moves the Donbas and ceasefire questions.